A local artist has been appointed by Care UK to produce a special sculpture for the gardens of Glastonbury Court care home in Bury St. Edmunds.

The sculpture will celebrate the end of Care UK’s three-year, £60 million development project, which has seen the creation of 10 new care homes and 10 new day care centres for older people across Suffolk.

Bury St. Edmunds-based sculpture artist Nigel Kaines from metalwork company, Designs On Metal, will be producing an outdoor centrepiece at Glastonbury Court, the tenth and final new care home to open in the county.

The finished sculpture will be a stainless steel and bronze design with leaves and acorns representing growth, stability and the enjoyment of spending time with nature. In addition to the main sculpture, the artist has also been tasked with creating a small token acorn that will be located in the other nine Suffolk Care UK homes.

Nigel Kaines, sculpture artist at Designs on Metal, said: “I’m delighted to have been selected to design and create the sculpture for Care UK. It represents a very exciting commission for us at Designs on Metal. We’re planning our design to both be visually engaging and have a great tactile quality.”

The finished sculpture, which will be unveiled in the gardens at Glastonbury Court in early 2017, will be named by residents at Care UK’s 10 Suffolk homes. Over the coming months, residents will each be making a name suggestion and voting for their favourite.

Jennie Rodger, home manager at Glastonbury Court, said: “We’re really pleased to have Nigel on board to realise our vision of a specially commissioned sculpture in the gardens at Glastonbury Court. The sculpture design will be a wonderful representation of the Care UK Suffolk project and will be enjoyed by residents, colleagues and visitors for years to come.”